Welcome to my home in the blogosphere. I'll be exploring my favorite books, movies, and the writing world in general, along with discovering my new home, California. I'll also be sharing my old home, New Hampshire with you. Thanks for popping in and I hope you enjoy some romance under the moonlight.

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Friday, September 27, 2013

Welcome Guest Author Barbara Edwards #guestauthor

STEPH: Barbara Edwards is a published author with the Wild Rose Press and she's here to talk about her latest release. Tell
us a little bit about your holiday romance.

BARBARA: Journey of the Magi tells the story of a
widow, with two small children who desperately wants to give them a safe home.
She promises they will reach Connecticut for the holidays but no money, a
broken down car and the man of her dreams threaten her plans

STEPH: How long
did Journey of the Magi take you to write?

BARBARA: Not
as long as my paranormal romances although it did get rejected twice before
finally being accepted. Probably four months in total.

STEPH: How much
research did you have to do?

BARBARA: Most
of the story came from my life. I visited Minnesota in November for a very cold
snowy wedding, I bake a terrific pie crust, I long to be home for the holidays,
I try very hard to keep my promises to my family. Wow, now you know a lot about
me.

STEPH: How does
the cover reflect the story?

BARBARA:I
think so. I guess you’d need to read Journey to see the tiny details the cover
artist put it.

STEPH:Noel
Martin is the heroine. What are her strengths? Weakness?

BARBARA: Noel’s
determined. When she makes a decision she follows through. Her weakness is she
can’t believe in the love she’s found with the hero.

STEPH: What does
the hero find appealing about the heroine?

BARBARA: She
is a gentle, loving woman who wants her children’s life to be as wonderful as
she remembers her childhood.

STEPH: What was the inspiration behind the novel?

BARBARA: My
manger has two sets of Magi or Wisemen. One set belonged to my Mother and
although the paint is peeling and chipped they remind me of Christmas at my
parent’s home.

STEPH: What's the theme of the novel?

BARBARA: Every
life is a journey in search of what is your heart’s desire.

STEPH: What are you reading now?

BARBARA: I’m
picking at several different stories. I have a ton of Wild Rose Press novels on
my Kindle and I keep switching.

STEPH: Fun Question: What's your favorite thing to do in the summer time?

BARBARA: I love the beach, any beach - lake, ocean, riverside
– as long as the water is murmuring, whispering, burbling.

Journey of the Magi blurb:

Widow Noel Martin never
breaks promises, and she promised her kids they’d have Christmas at her
childhood home in Connecticut. But driving across country takes money. Noel is
broke when a snowstorm blows them into a tiny Minnesota café owned by a man who
can change her mind. She accepts his offer of a job. Despite her attraction to
him, she makes it clear she is only temporary help.

Dan Longstreet isn’t adopting
any more strays, but he needs a waitress. Dan works so hard to make his café a success, he doesn't have
time for love.Though Noel’s slender blonde
beauty stuns him and her two adorable children tug at his heart, he denies how
they threaten to change his life.

When tragedy strikes, their
new-found love is the first victim. Noel can't stay and Dan can't
leave. Will their journey be the gift that reunites them?

“Oh,
Holly, how many times have I told you not to open the door to strangers?”

Holly
stared at her mother.

“That’s
what Dan said, too.” Her forehead wrinkled as she pursed her mouth. “Do all
grown-ups say the same things?”

“Not all.
And I think you should call him Mr. Longstreet.”

“I did.
But he said I could call him Dan since you were already friends.”

Noel ducked
her head to avoid Holly’s gaze as her stomach warmed. Friends? Her pulse raced
and her skin tingled when he was close, not feelings she had for a friend. Dan
sparked a strong attraction in her, but she had no intention of acting on it.
She had to keep firmly to her goal: they were going home.

Home. She’d
dreamed of returning for so long. If she was honest, going home had been her
hope for years. The big old farmhouse had given a sad, lonely child more than
shelter. It held the memories of loving arms cradling her, fresh-baked cookies
and safety. All the things she wanted for her babies.

Nicholas
gave a contented hiccup and she eased him over to burp. As soon as she dressed,
she’d remind Dan she had to leave before Christmas.

6 comments:

Barbara, thanks so much for visiting. I love the excerpt, it really draws you in as a reader. What was the inspiration behind the story? A christmas song? A movie? A quote? The actual journey the magi took?

What a lovely interview. It was like we were all sitting around in the living room, shooting the breeze.

Barb, I enjoyed Journey of the Magi. I still need to pull my thoughts together to write a review, but I kept scrolling through the book and didn't want it to end. Dan and Noel are a great couple and I rooted for them to find their happily ever after.

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Quotes on writing:

"Transitions are critically important. I want the reader to turn the page without thinking she's turning the page. It must flow seamlessly." - Janet Evanovich

"You can stroke people with words."~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Words are... the most powerful drug used by mankind."~ Rudyard Kipling

Write drunk; edit sober.- Ernest Hemingway

"A word is deadWhen it is said, Some say.I say it just Begins to liveThat day."~ Emily Dickenson

"Never Regret. If it's good, it's

wonderful. If it's bad, it's

experience." - Victoria Holt

The Ethereal Gazette #12

My horror story with Lovecraftian undertones, "THE SCORPION TEMPLE" is in this anthology.

The Giving Meadow

My Children's Book, The Giving Meadow is now available through 4RV Publishing

Royal Pretender - A historical short story in THE CUPID DIARIES

A Royal Pretender seeks the hand of the beautiful, melancholy Caroline of Ansbach but can he win her heart despite his disguise?

Across The Fickle Winds of History

Paul Kerensky must stop Olga Romanov from being named the Heir Presumptive

About Me

A member of Generation X, Stephanie was born in Manchester, New Hampshire. After graduating from Central High, she joined the U.S. Army. She spent 11 years in the military, 7 stationed in Germany. While in the military she earned her B.S. in Political Science from California Baptist University in Riverside, CA in 1995. She left the Army in 1997 and settled in California. She now works for LAPD as a 911 Dispatcher. The New England Patriots are still her favorite football team. Stephanie has been married for over 19 years. She has two boys, Andrew, 8, and Joseph, 4.